The Code Is Zeek

Kung Fu Panda 3 arrives in theaters this week, serving as a nice break from the depths of new January releases. Speaking of which, the 'amazing true story' that is The Finest Hours wouldn't be coming out in January if the movie was amazing. Fortunately, you can still see many of the Oscar-nominated films still in theaters or check out a couple new releases on Blu-ray, Chi-Raq (really solid) or Goosebumps (quite fun). Be sure to check out our fun audio commentary for The Rock as well. Enjoy! In Theaters Now: Kung Fu Panda 3 - http://whysoblu.com/kung-fu-panda-3-movie-review/ (Another fine entry in this animated series) The Finest Hours - http://whysoblu.com/the-finest-hours-movie-review/ (Old fashioned, sappy, and boring) Here's The Archive Of Every Review Throughout The Year(s) - http://www.thecodeiszeek.com/p/review-archive.html

Let’s cut the chit chat and get right to it. Michael Bay released one of his ‘smaller’ films this year, so it was decided the guys do a commentary for his best film, The Rock . Aaron is joined by Brandon Peters and Cullen Bricker from the Cult Cinema  Cavalcade  podcast to discuss the Sean Connery-Nic Cage team up and the career of Bay in general. Be prepared for a lot of arguing, defending, ridiculing, fun, and humor as the guys dig into what works about Michael Bay and why he has had a lot of trouble of over the years. Important Note:   This commentary may feature both juvenile uses of language and jokes that may be considered un-PC.  We of course are just trying to have a fun time… So now, if you’ve got an hour to kill…

While there is probably an audience out there for The 5th Wave, The Boy or even Dirty Grandpa , I opted out of seeing any of them, avoiding all the new releases of what is probably the worse weekend of the year, when it comes to new wide releases. So instead, I have put up my reviews for all 8 Best Pictures nominees. You can also see some review for the new Blu-ray releases of the week and our fun podcast episode talking Oscars and 13 Hours . Enjoy! In Theaters Now: Since Nothing Good Came Out This Week, If you have to play catch up: The Big Short -  http://www.ranthollywood. com/2015/12/09/the-big-short- is-as-scary-as-it-is- hilarious/ Bridge of Spies -  http://www.ranthollywood. com/2015/10/13/bridge-of- spies-has-steven-spielberg- proving-hes-still-one-of-the- greats/ Brooklyn -  http://www.ranthollywood. com/2015/11/04/brooklyn-is-an- enchanting-coming-of-age- drama/ Mad Max: Fury Road -  http://www.ranthollywood. com/2015/05/11/fi...

This week’s episode of Out Now with Aaron and Abe is a laid back round of just the guys talking without any guests. Aaron and Abe take time to highlight recent Oscar news, some unfortunate deaths of film legends and discuss Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi . Among topics covered, we have Oscar Discussion ( 7:47 ), a fun round of Know Everybody ( 17:30 ), some Out Now Quickies™ ( 22:30 ), trailer talk for 10 Cloverfield Lane ( 30:30 ), the main review ( 35:30 ), Out Now Feedback ( 59:30 ), and Games ( 1:07:08 ). We then wrap things up ( 1:09:55 ) and end it all with some bloopers ( 1:18:02 ), following this week’s close out song.  So now, if you’ve got an hour or so to kill… You can also find links to the episode at AudioBoom .  Subscribe via iTunes HERE

Michael Bay has a new film this weekend with 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi . That's enough reason right there to head to the cinemas, which is fun to say. You may or may not have issues with the film's politics, but it delivers visceral  thrills meant to be seen on a big screen. It is at least far better than Ride Along 2 . And how about that, the Oscar nominations are out and I was happy to give my two cents on it. We also had our epic Top Ten of 2015 podcast . Basically, there are plenty of cool links here, so enjoy! In Theaters Now: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2016/01/13-hours-movie- review.html (Intense) Ride Along 2 -  http://whysoblu.com/ride- along-2-movie-review/ (Like watching a non-funny, blank screen) Here's The Archive Of Every Review Throughout The Year(s) -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/p/review-archive.html

The nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards have been announced and I wanted to both list them out and add a few notes for several of the categories. As always, while Oscars are certainly a huge achievement, they do not suddenly take away the thoughts that you or anyone had on certain films. Not seeing a film mentioned does not mean you were wrong or that they were right, things just happen the way they do. That said, it is not at all a bad thing to have some thoughts on what has went down and where things will go from here. Whether that means criticizing the lack of diversity or having qualms with which film certain actors could have been nominated for instead, it stands to reason that just as much fun can be had with going over how things did work out, as much as they did.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi: 3 ½ out of 5 I had plenty of interest in seeing 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi due to auteur Michael Bay ’s involvement. I seem to have to keep finding myself saying ‘auteur Michael Bay’, as the man is an artist with a distinct voice, whether you like it or not. Fortunately, while Bay’s intent to represent his county in the best way possible has its issues, it still stands strong as a fine piece of action filmmaking for those who crave BAYhem.

This week’s episode of Out Now with Aaron and Abe is the episode that really helps close out 2015 in film for the guys, as they discuss their Top Ten Films of 2015 . Mark Hobin, Peter Paras, Maxwell Haddad, Ana Bosch and many others are heard in some form, as Aaron and Abe get thought their end of the year lists, with lots of fun help. Listen to the first half ( 4:43 ), hear about some of the worst films of the year ( 1:37:50 ) and then listen in on the epic finale ( 1:49:43 ) in this long, but very fun episode. We then wrap things up ( 3:00:09 ) and end it all with some bloopers ( 3:16:37 ), following this week’s close out song.  So now, if you’ve got an hour or so to kill… You can also find links to the episode at AudioBoom .  Subscribe via iTunes HERE

Update: As I somewhat suspected, George Miller was more or less caught saying words that didn't exactly mean what people thought. He will be directing more Mad Max movies, he just needs a break. Still, enjoy my original post. It has been reported today that director George Miller does not seem to have a desire to return for future Mad Max sequels. This comes as something of a shock, as the 70-year old director has put together all four films in the series so far over the course of four decades. 2015's  Mad Max: Fury Road  even delivered big enough to possibly earn him a Best Director Oscar nomination later this week. Perhaps it is just a bit of fatigue setting in for now, but Miller has spoken his mind pretty clearly.

This week The Revenant finally spreads to theaters everywhere, so people can see how much Leonardo DiCaprio suffered for their entertainment. It's a solid film for sure and I've reviewed it here. You can also still find my Top Ten of 2015 list, as well as a list of my Most Anticipated films of 2016. A ton of flicks hit DVD/Blu-ray this week as well, including the great Sicario , so be sure to check out all those reviews, along with our great Hateful Eight  podcast as well. Enjoy! In Theaters Now: The Revenant -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2015/12/the-revenant-is- stunningly-beautiful.html (spreads wide this week, Leo really goes for it) My TOP TEN of 2015 -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2016/01/2015-year-end- recap-top-ten-of-2015.html My Most Anticipated Films of 2016 -  http://whysoblu.com/aarons- most-anticipated-films-for- 2016-based-on-whats-scheduled/ The Hateful Eight -  http://www.thecodeiszeek.com/2015/12/the-hateful-...

This week’s episode of Out Now with Aaron and Abe starts off the new year with a new film from one of the most confident and controversial filmmakers out there. Aaron and Abe are joined by guests Jimmy O and Aaron Fink to discuss Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight . Among topics covered, we have a fun round of Know Everybody ( 5:22 ), some Out Now Quickies™ ( 12:40 ), trailer talk for Kubo & The Two Strings ( 25:00 ), the main review ( 29:46 ), Out Now Feedback ( 10:37 ), and Games ( 1:26:33 ). We then wrap things up ( 1:32:20 ) and end it all with some bloopers ( 1:46:15 ), following this week’s close out song.  So now, if you’ve got an hour or so to kill… You can also find links to the episode at AudioBoom .  Subscribe via iTunes HERE

Here are my Top Ten films for 2015. It has been fun writing up posts leading to this final list of great flicks and I hope everyone enjoys what I have laid out as my favorite films of this past year. Take a look, look through the other posts, feel free to comment and most of all - Enjoy!

Happy New Year everyone! 2015 has ended, but I did spend plenty of time wrapping up my thoughts on the year in film, which can be seen in My TOP TEN of 2015 list and plenty of other fun lists I've put together and linked below. You can also check out links to my reviews for Anomalisa  and The Hateful Eight , if you're looking to catch some new flicks. Plenty of other links to the podcast and more as always as well, so enjoy! In Theaters Now: My TOP TEN of 2015 -  http://whysoblu.com/aarons- top-ten-2015/ Anomalisa -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2016/01/anomalisa-spills- charlie-kaufmans-mind.html (Wonderfully weird and unique) The Hateful Eight -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/2015/12/the-hateful-eight- is-tarantinos.html (Spreads wide this week. Tarantino Delivers Again) Here's The Archive Of Every Review Throughout The Year(s) -  http://www.thecodeiszeek. com/p/review-archive.html

Anomalisa : 4 out of 5 Leave it to the unique mind of Charlie Kaufman to show how any film style can be used to tell a story. While Pixar may have done a wonderful job bridging the gap between colorfully animated entertainment and thematically deep stories for all ages, Kaufman has scripted and co-directed a stop-motion animated film with real emotional depth and it almost completely takes place in a hotel. This doesn’t make one approach better than the other, but it is great to see this format being pushed to its limits by way of a human drama, rather than something fantastical for a change.